Do Facebook Application Developers Know Too Much?

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg sent application developers into cheers last April, during Facebook's annual "f8" conference. The big news was that Facebook was removing all restrictions on the amount of data about a user an application can save. Previously, Facebook applications couldn't store and cache data for more than 24 hours. While developers and marketing companies burst into cheers of happiness, should you, the user support this change? As far a user experience goes, yes, you should. However, privacy and safety wise, definitely not.

Before this change, apps had to constantly retrieve data from Facebook servers, which resulted in drastically slower loading times. Now that that all the data that apps need is already there, the end user receives an overall better experience. While your apps may load faster, most users overlook the fact that applications are accessing your personal data. ACLU has put together a campaign to raise awareness of the privacy concerns surrounding Facebook applications. Regardless of your privacy settings on Facebook, once you click the "allow" button on an applications, you give it permission to access all of your personal information. ACLU also release a shocking article mentioning that your private data is also revealed when one of your friends takes a quiz.

The "Which Spongebob Character Are You" quiz may not seem suspicious to the user, but deep behind the "allow" button, you are giving out information you would normally keep confidential. Applications are made for profit. How to developers make profit? Your information. Think twice before taking that quiz your friend sent you that message about.

Want to know more? Take ACLU's Facebook privacy quiz. (Not to mention, this quiz is a Facebook application...)

How To: Disable Facebook Places

Facebook just announced a Foursquare like service called Facebook Places.  If you are like me and don't want to use it, then you have to disable it.

In order to disable it you need to go into your privacy settings under the account tab on the right hand side of your home page.  From there you need to select Custom for your settings.  Now you need to click the customize settings link and set the Places I check in to setting to only me by customizing it in to dropdown menu and saving.  Next, uncheck Include me in "People Here Now" after I check in.  Scroll down to the things others share and disable Friends can check me in to Places.  

There you go. Now Facebook Places is disabled.

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Case-Mate Barely There Unboxing

Case-Mate, a popular case company, is currently holding a contest on FaceBook. This contest is where you refer 10 of your friends to Case-Mate. Once those ten friends become a fan of the page, you are prompted to get a free case. I chose the Barely There Case for iPod Touch 2g. This case was free, and it was definitely asking all my friends to like the Case-Mate page. 

I did not expect to get my case two days later. I got the free case confirmation email Wednesday night and I got it Saturday morning. I was extremely impressed that it shipped and arrived so quickly. That wasn't the only thing that impressed me.

The case included a bundle of extras, ranging from a screen protector, to a microfiber cloth, and a helpful squeegee. I applied the screen protector off camera as I am not that great at installing them, but this screen protector was so easy to install and now you can't see it at all. Its barely there! I will have full coverage of all of the case cons and pros in a future review. Check out more videos on my YouTube Channel.

Have a Creative Day,

CreativeTechtivity 

How to Avoid Phishing Attacks

Lately on Facebook, there has been a massive phishing attack. Here is how to not only avoid it, but to reverse it.

To avoid phishing scams, just don't give out your username and password! And to reverse phishing scams, change your password!

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"National Quit Facebook Day" Gets a Parody Video

Yesterday, May 31st, on National Quit Facebook Day, not many had given into temptation and had done what the holiday had suggested. Only about 34,000 people took the plunge and deleted their Facebook accounts. The video below probably promotes Facebook more than makes fun of it. Well I'm sure that the people who came up with this holiday probably hate Facebook or their parents wouldn't allow them to get an account.

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